Bank Branches › Closed and merged banks › Wisconsin › First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin
What happened to First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin?
First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin in Shorewood, WI (earlier called North Shore Bank and 1 other name) merged into First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin of New Berlin, WI on Jan 1, 1985. After 2 more changes of hands, what was First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin is today part of Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (Sioux Falls, SD).
The chain, step by step
From the day it opened to the bank at the end of the chain today. Each step is one entry in the FDIC's record.
- 1946North Shore Bank opens in Shorewood, WI
- Jun 26, 1978renamed Citizens North Shore Bank
- Aug 14, 1984renamed First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin
- Jan 1, 1985MERGEDFirst Interstate Bank of Wisconsin merged into First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin of New Berlin, WI.FDIC certificate 16435 ends; its business continues under certificate 20675.
- Jan 1, 1992MERGEDFirst Interstate Bank of Wisconsin (by then renamed Norwest Bank Wisconsin) of New Berlin, WI merged into Norwest Bank Wisconsin, National Association of Milwaukee, WI.FDIC certificate 20675 ends; its business continues under certificate 18694.
- Feb 20, 2004MERGEDNorwest Bank Wisconsin, National Association (by then renamed Wells Fargo Bank Wisconsin, National Association) of Milwaukee, WI merged into Wells Fargo Bank, National Association of Sioux Falls, SD.FDIC certificate 18694 ends; its business continues under certificate 3511.
- TodayOPEN
Wells Fargo Bank, National AssociationMain office Sioux Falls, SD · FDIC certificate 3511 · 4,157 offices in 40 states on June 30, 2026Every Wells Fargo Bank, National Association office → Website on file with the FDIC: www.wellsfargo.com
If you still have something from First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin
A lien that was never released
If a paid-off mortgage, home-equity line or car loan still shows First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin as lienholder, start with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. In a merger the surviving bank takes over the other bank's loans, so it is the bank to ask for a recordable lien release; if the loan was sold along the way, it can tell you to whom.
The FDIC says it cannot process lien releases for banks that merged or were acquired without government assistance, which is what the record shows here.
Record the release with the same county office that recorded the original mortgage or deed of trust.
An old account, passbook or CD
Ask Wells Fargo Bank, National Association to search for the account under the name First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin. A passbook or certificate shows an account existed. It doesn't show the money is still there, and the OCC notes that federal rules require banks to keep most account records for five years.
Accounts nobody touches are eventually turned over to a state. The OCC puts the usual wait at three to five years with no activity, set by each state's law. Search the unclaimed-property program of the state of the owner's last known address on the bank's records, and any other state they lived in. It is free to search and to claim through a state's own site, and MissingMoney.com, an official site of the state administrators' association, searches most states at once.
A safe deposit box
Ask Wells Fargo Bank, National Association which branch now holds boxes from the First Interstate Bank of Wisconsin office you used. The OCC says a box with no activity for three to five years (the period is set by state statute) is likely treated as dormant, and its contents may be turned over to the state's unclaimed-property program.
Box contents are not covered by FDIC insurance.
Not sure this is your bank?
Many banks shared a name. Match the city and the years above against your paperwork, or search again with the town.
Credit unions were never FDIC-insured and are not in this record; the NCUA credit union lookup covers those. Banks that closed before about 1970 are not in the FDIC's list either.
One caution: banks also sell single branches. If the office you used was sold to a different bank along the way, the account went with the branch, not with this chain.
This page is drawn from FDIC records and federal guidance. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office. More detail: lien releases · old passbooks and CDs · safe deposit boxes · unclaimed money.
Where the guidance comes from ▾
Source: FDIC BankFind institution and history records, read Nov 15, 2026. The FDIC's list covers banks that ended in about 1970 or later. Look up certificate 16435 in the FDIC BankFind Suite to see the government's own entry. Corrections: me@byclaude.net.